Steam clothes-press.



:A. J. HOFFMAN. STEAM GLO-THES PRESS. APPLICATION FILED MAB-.28, 1908Patented NOV.2, 1909.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. J. HOFFMAN.

STEAM CLOTHES PRESS.

Arrmonlpn rum) 111L228, 1908.

939,025, Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" Jezw miaw A? A. J. HOFFMAN. STEAM CLOTHES PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED 1111338, 1908.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

8 BHEETB8HBET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADON J. HOFFMAN, F SmC'USFI, NEW YORK.

s'rnm onornnsrnn'ss.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, ADON J. HOFFMAN, of Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Imrovements in Steam Clothes- Presses, 0 which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying draw ings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription. h

is invention relates to certain improvements in steam clothes presses ofthe class set forth in' my pending application .No. 235,188, filedDecember 1, 1904, in which a presser head is permanently associated withand movable toward and from a buck or 'arment support and is providedwith a oraminous presser face and ress cloth through which steam isadapte to be discharged a ainst the upper surface of the garmentw ilethe. latter is under pressure so that the upper surface of said garmentis subjected to the simultaneous application of steam and mechanicalpressure under the control of the operator.

In my pending application referred to as well as in m presentapplication the broad object is to istribute the steam evenly over mentalmost-instantly the upper surface of the garment while the latter isunder mechanical pressure whereby a dense but thin cloudof steam will beten porarily embedded in the nap of the garment for the purpose ofsoftenin the same and immediately raising the nap y the natural escapeof the steam upward when the mechanical pressure is removed, therapidity of eva oration of the steam serving to accelerate the dry ofthe garment so that such garment may immediately put on and worn as soonas taken from the press. In other words, the important result obtainedby applying the steam in the manner just descrr d to the upper surfaceof the garment is to expedite the drying of the. garupon the release ofthe mechanical pressure.

' One of the specific objects of mypresent invention is to inter-pose awire screen of comparatively fine mesh between a fora-minous pre'sserface and ress cloth. for the purpose of more even y distributing thesteam over the. u per surface of the garment while under mec anicalpressure. 4 Y

Another object. is to heat the buck or garment support (preferabl bysteam) for the pur use of further acce crating the drying of garmentthus permitting the use 0 Specification of Letters Batent.

Application fled. Iarch 28, 1908. Serial No. 423,981.

duits 5 and 7 source as, for instance, from a steam gen- Patented Nov.

comparatively low pressure steam in the presser head.

A further specific object is to provide the buck or garment support withone or I more channels or grooves (preferably through its longitudinalcenter) for the purpose of receiving the seams of trousers and othergarments and thereby preventing these parts of the garment from beingpressed shiny or glossy as is most alwaysthe case where the seams areimpinged between two more or less rigid faces.

Another object is to provide the buck with a removable collar pad shapedso as to nearly conform to the collar and adjacent portion of theshoulder-of-such garment.

Another object is to enable the buck to be rotated horizontally andmoved longitudinally relatively to the presser head and particularlywhen it is desired to use the collar ad. Other objects and uses relatingto diiferent arts of the press will be brought out in the ollowingdescription. In the drawings-Figures 1 and 2 are respectively rear andfront perspective views of the complete clothes press showing the steamheater and its connections therewith and also'showingportions of thepress cloth and screen partial y broken away in Fig. 2

to show the foraminous presser face. Fig. 3

is a top plan of the presser head showing the gas heater and steam pipeconnections therewith. Figs. a and 5 are sectional views takenrespectively on lines 4-4 and 55,

Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a to plan of the buck showing the collar pa inoperative position and also showing the lengthwise channel therein, aportion of the pad surface of the buck being broken away to show theunderlying channel. Fig. 7 is a detail elevation of one end of the buckand adjacent end of ad in erator -'-7- shown in Fig s. and 2 therebyvided with a suitable foot piece 26-- at heating both the buck and headto a sufficient temperature to materially accelerate the drying of thegarment when the mechanical pressure is released and at the same timekeeping the temperature sufliciently low to prevent burnin or charringof the garment, it being un erstood that both steam chambers arepractically coextensive with the coacting faces of the buck and presserhead. 1 j

The presser face of the buck l is covered with a suitable press cloth-9- and interposed yielding body --10- of felt or other pliableabsorbent, the press cloth being held in position by a suitable splitband or clamp l1-' assing around the marginal edges of the buck. Thisbuck is usually made of cast iron and is movable longitudinally in asupport 13 which in turn is revoluble and journaled in a suitablebracket '-15+ as best seen in Fig. 4 so that the buck may be rotatedhorizontally, and adjusted longitudinally relatively to the presser headfor any purpose as, for instance, to permit the use of a collar pad -l6which is removably attached to one end of the buck that is to bring araisedportion -16'. of the pad corresponding to the collarof the coat orsimilargarment into operative relation to one end of the presser head soas to press the shoulder and portion of the collar at the same timeallowing the collar to stand in its natural position.

The bracket 15 is supported upon a 7 suitable table or shelf'-14 whichtogether height.

with other parts of the press exclusive of the heater 7 and its adjunctsare mounted upon a supporting frame 17- to retain the buck and presserhead at a convenient The revoluble support 13 and lower side of the buckl are provided with interlocking ways which permit longitudinal movementbut prevents vertical displacement of the buck upon the support, thepipe connection -5 beingsulflciently long and flexible to allow for thelongitudinal and rotary movement of the buck which latter may be clampedin its adjusted position against rotation by a clamping screw 18 as bestseen in Fig. 5. a y

The resser head 2 is rigidly secured to the Front end of a rocking frame20-- which is fulcrumedintermediate its ends at 21-- to upwardlyextending arms of the rear portion of the frame -17 and its rear endconnected to a link 22- and spring -23'-', the lower end of the s ringbeing attached to a portion of the, rame 17- for the pur ose. ofreturnin and normally holding ,t e presser head 1n its eaoas bracket 25and has its front end pro- I The presser head 2- is provided with aperforated or foraminous presser face 27- which is secured by suitablefastening means as screws 28- to the main body of the head and forms thelower side of the steam chamber 4 within which is located a battle ordeflector plate 30' held in place by screws 29-.

The foraminous presser plate 27- is preferably concavo-convex in crosssection as best seen in Fig. 5 and its lower face is covered by a wirescreen 31 of comparatively fine mesh and. coextensive with the area ofthe presser plate, said wire screen being in turn covered by a presscloth 32, the marginal edges of which are clamped to the perimeter ofthe presser head by a split band 33+ andclamping screws 34- so that thepress cloths may be easily removed and replaced when worn.

The object in concaving the lower face of the presser plate 27 is tocause the out such garment upon theyielding pad on the upper face of thebuck and at the same time assure more perfect contact between thepressing faces of the pressing head and buck with the garment.

The steam pipe 6 which supplies steam to the chanfber 4cis extended 12,one side of which lies in close prox-' imity to and above a gas burner36 by which the adjacent side of the steam coil is heated therebysuperheating the steam just beforeits entranceinto the steam chamber 4,the object of which is to partially dry the steam and to increaseitsexpansive force to accelerate the dryingof the garment while undermechanical pressureijor lmmediately after the removal of such pressure.

The burner 36 is provided with-additional apertures to deflect a portionof the flame against the upper side of the presser head for the purposeof additionally heating l the same and further accelerating the dryin ofthe garment while under mechanica pr islslure.

e steam sup 1 i e -'-6+'is rovided with a suitable alv 3 7 in pi oximityto its connection with the steam chamber 4-, said valve having asuitable o erating member 38 by which the etilof the steam into saidchamber 4f may? be controlled at the will of the operator and a isusually opened for a short interval while i V 13o the garment is undermechanical pressureso seems as to produce a thin dense cloud of steamoration of the steam aided by the'superheating of such steam and alsothe heating of the buck and presser head which enables the garment to beput on immediately after being taken from the press.

In pressing trousers between two presser faces in a press of thischaracter, the seams at the inner and outer sides of the legs arenecessarily thicker than the remaining portions of the trouser legs andunless some v preventive provision is made these thick ened portions orseams of the trousers appear glossy or shiny when taken from the pressand in order to obviate this effect I provide the buck with a lengthwisechannel 40 located near the longitudinal center and covered by the pad10 and presser cloth 9 portions of which in registration with thechannel 40 readily yield into said channel when the seams of the trouserlegs are brought directly over said channel and subjected to mechanicalpressure by the downward movement of the presser head -2, as best seenin Fig. 5.

In order that'tbe presser head and steam pipe 6-- may be moved withoutstraining any of the pipe joints the inlet end of the pipe 6 is looselymounted in a tubular head or bushing .41 which is coaxial with theswinging axis of the head '-2 or fulcrum 21 and to which is connected asteam pipe 42 leading from the gen-erator 7, the flexible steam pipe 5'leading to the chamber of the buck 1-- being also connected to thishead 41 In operation, the garment is spread out smoothly across thepresser face of the buck 1- and properly brushed or cleaned and thepresser head 2 is then forced downwardly either by the pedal lever 44 ora hand lever 45 which is secured to the head and while the garment is-under pressure the valve 37 is opened for a short interval by theoperator through the medium of the hand piece 38,.and the steam enteringthe chamber 4 being spread out by the baflle plate 30--'is' evenlydistributed by the foraminous presser plate 27, screen 31 and presscloth in the form of a thin dense cloud upon the upper surface'of thearment thereby softening the nap while the pressure mats said nap moreor less so that when the mechanical pressure is removed by the elevationof the presser head, the tendency of the steam to immediately escapeupward restores or raises the nap and the rapidity of the es cape ofsaidisteam accelerates the drying of the garment which is aided by thesuperheating of the steam and also by the heating of the buck andpresser head, the garment being practically dry almost immediately afterthe mechanical pressure is removed.

When it is desired to press the shoulder and collar of a coat or similargarment the auxiliary pad -16 is slipped or placed over one end of thebuck as shown in Figs. 6' and 7 and the buck is then turned upon itsaxis and adjusted longitudinally as previously described until theraised portion at the end of the auxiliary pad comes just outside of theadjacent end of thepresser head .as shown in Fig. 7, the collar beingfitted around said raised portion while the shoulder is brought betweenthe presser face of the pad and super osed presser head.

What is claime is:

1. In a clothes press, a main supporting frame, a hollow buck mounted onsaid frame and having an imperforate top, a cloth secured to the buckand extending across its top face, means for introducin steam into theinterior of the buck for heatlng the same,

a press head hinged to the frame and proj vided with a steam chamberhaving a perforated bottom, a press cloth secured to the head andextending across the perforated bottom, and means for introducing steaminto the press head and through said perforated bottom and press clothagainst the upper surface of the garment, the imperforate top of thebuck serving to prevent the passage of the steam through the garment.

2. In a clothes press, a main supporting frame, a buck journaled nearone end upon the supporting frame to swing horizontally and providedwith an imperforate top, a cloth covering the top of the buck andsecured thereto, a superposed press head hinged to the frame-andprovided with a steam chamber having a perforated bottom, a mess clothcovering the perforated bottom 0- the press head, means for introducingsteam into the press head and through its 'foraminous bottom and pressclot-h against ber of the buck, a cloth covering the imperforate top ofthe buck and secured thereto, a superposed press head hin ed to theframe and provided with a steam cliamber having a cloth againstperforated bottom,'a press .c oth secured to the press head andextending across and under the perforated bottom, means forintroducingsteam into the press head and through said erforated bottomand press the upper surface of the garment, and mechanism for forcingthe press head toward the-buck, the imperforate top of said buck servingto prevent the passage of steam through t egarment while under pressure.

4. In a clothes press, a main supporting 7 frame, a hollow buck mountedon the frame having an imperforate top and provided with a lengthwisechannel in its upper face, a cloth covering the top and channel of thebuckand secured thereto, means for introducing steam into-the buck, asuperposed press head hinged to the frame and provided with a'perforatedbottom, a press cloth sei ,cured to the head and extending across thebuck and resting upon a portion of the top face thereof, a superposedpress head hinged to the frame and provided with a perforated headtoward the buck, said buck with thebottom, a press cloth extendingacross the perforated bottom of the head and secured thereto, and meansfor forcibly pressing the pad thereon bein movable horizontallyrelatively to the head. v 6. In a clothes press, a main supportih frame,a buck mounted on the frame an provided with an imperforate top, asuperposed press head mounted on the frame and provided with a erforatedbottom, a wire screen fabric of ne mesh extending across the under sideof the perforated bottom, a 1 .press cloth'ex-tending across the underside p for projecting steam throughthefperforated ,of the screen, saidscreen and press cloth being secured to the press head, and means bottomscreen and press cloth 0 the ress head and against the upper surface 0the garment,-the imperforate top of the buck serving to preventthepassage of the steam through the garment.

7. In a clothes press, a ing an imperforate top, means to heat the buck,asuperposed presser head having a hollow buck havforaminous presserface, and means for forcing steam through said foraminous presser faceand against the upper surface of the garment while'the latter is'underpressure.

8. In a clothes ress, a buck having an imperforate top an a superposedresser head permanently associated therew'it', and both aving steamchambers, vthe presser head being movable toward and from the buck andprovided with a foraminous presser' face, and a press cloth coveringsaid face.

9. In a steam clothes press, a support for the garment, a su erposedpresser head hav- 1 ing a steam chani er and a iforaminous bottom, asteam pipe enteringsaid head and having a return bend therein above thehead and means for heating one of the sides of thereturn bend of thesteam pipe forsuperheating the steam passing therethrou h.

10. In a steam c ing a steam chamber provided with an imperforate top, aresser head having a steam chamber and a oram nous bottom, a steam ipeentering said hea and having a return nd therein above the head, andmeans for heating one of the sides of the return bend of the steam pipefor superheating the steam passing therethrough, said meansalso' heatinthe head.

n witness whereof I have hereunto set "my hand this 25th day ofMarch1908.

' ADON J. HOFFMAN.

othes press, a buc hav-

